University of Colorado signs local recruit from Boulder and a transfer from Texas

BOULDER — The University of Colorado soccer program continued adding to its roster for the upcoming fall season with the additions of Ava Priest and Lola Stanley.

Priest joins the Buffaloes from down the road at Boulder High School, while Stanley transfers in from the University of Texas.

“Ava and Lola are tremendous additions to our 2023 squad,” head coach Danny Sanchez commented. “Ava has the versatility to play almost anywhere on the field. She has great pace and technical ability. We feel she can have an immediate impact on our program. Lola has gained fantastic experience being a part of the program at Texas. Like Ava, she is very quick and versatile. She comes to CU with something to prove and we love that mentality.”

Priest, a 5-5 defender, graduated a year early from Boulder H.S., to join the Buffs in 2023. She played 3.5 years of club soccer for Colorado Rush, winning the 2022 Girls’ Academy Champions League. Priest was the team’s 2022 Defensive Player of the Year and was a part of the 2021 and 2022 USYNT Regional ID centers. She also trained in Spain with Mislata, SPF and Deportivo, winning the Valencia Cup with Mislata. Priest was a three-time letter winner in track & field at Boulder H.S., and owns the third-best time in school history in the 300-meter hurdles and the fifth-best time in the 100-meter hurdles.

Stanley, a native of Frisco, Texas, joined the Longhorns in 2021 as a four-star recruit that was listed at No. 131 overall in the Top Drawer Soccer IMG Academy’s top 150. The 5-4 midfielder played club for Solar Soccer and graduated from Frisco High School. Stanley captained her team to a national championship in the 2018-19 season and snagged multiple Development Academy and ECNL Weekly Standout honors.

She was a member of the U16/U17 U.S. Soccer DA National Championship team in 2018-19 and was invited to play in the Adidas ESP event at the Portland Timbers in 2017. Stanley has been a part of a 2016-17 ECNL National Championship finalist, a 2016 USYSA National Champion and was part of the 2016 USYSA National Championship Best XI. She played one year for Frisco H.S. as a freshman in 2017-18 but helped her team to the district playoffs while being named Second Team All-Region and the District 9-5A Newcomer of the Year.

Stanley played six games for Texas in the 2021 season, logging two shots and 101 minutes. She will have three years of eligibility left.

The two additions bring the number of new faces for 2023 to 13 with eight incoming freshmen and five transfers.